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2002 Cuvée Contraire - Rosé

2002 Cuvée Contraire - Rosé Wine Details
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Description: This is the third vintage for our proprietary blend of Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir. The Gamay was fermented as a red wine, and was aged for a few months in older barrels. The Pinot was made as a white wine from juice drained from the vats immediately after de-stemming (a process known as saignée). The two lots were blended together just prior to bottling to create this unique, dry, rosé-style wine. The wine has a fresh, spicy aroma with plenty of red fruit that carries through onto the palate. Crisp and clean like a white wine, but with the weight and complexity of a red. Very Limited!

Varietal Definition
Gamay:
The red grape of Beaujolais. Vinified by a process known as 'macération carbonique'* if produces light, fruit driven wines for early consumption. At home in the granite hills of Beaujolais it is a vigorous producer but susceptible to rot. Sometimes blended with Pinot Noir under the appellation 'Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains'. Also grown quite extensively in the Loire Valley notably in Touraine.
Gamay Noir:
The Gamay Noir grape is a clone of Pinot Noir. The version thought to be responsible for the Beaujolais wines of France is the Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc, as distinct from other Gamay teinturiers - (i.e: Gamay vine mutations of ancient origin noted for their deep red coloring capacity in blends).
Pinot Noir:
The name is derived from the French words for ‘pine’ and ‘black’ alluding to the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine cone shaped bunches of fruit. Pinot Noir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler regions, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. It is widely considered to produce some of the finest wines in the world, but is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine. By volume most Pinot Noir in America is grown in California with Oregon coming in second. Other regions are Washington State and New York.During 2004 and the beginning of 2005, Pinot Noir became considerably more popular amongst consumers in the United States, possibly because of the movie Sideways. Being lighter in style, it has benefited from a trend toward more restrained, less alcoholic wines. It is the delicate, subtle, complex and elegant nature of this wine that encourages growers and winemakers to cultivate this difficult grape. Robert Parker has described Pinot Noir: "When it's great, Pinot Noir produces the most complex, hedonistic, and remarkably thrilling red wine in the world."


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